The Chicago Way update on Chadha v NPES

Posted by
Turban8r

Added
Sep
15
2017

Hello. And no this isn't a viral letter about us leaving Chicago.....yet.

So we are now in appeals court in our litigation against North Park Elementary School in the 47th Ward. This was all simply due to our refusal to sell our property (in Coonley boundary area) to the private school so our kids could attend Coonley.

I am still dumbfounded by the justice system in light of the evidence as it continues to side with the influential/well connected in our liberal enclave.

Apparently emails/texts received in discovery such as those outlined below are not enough to show corruption/threats/RICO in our city's courts:

Board Member/Developer to NPES: "I’m going to push his (Chadha) buttons today. My statement to him will be that my customers feel his property is worth less now and may want to wait for city foreclosure and buy it as a side yard."

Principal to NPES Board Members: "Negotiations on 2035 w Montrose have completely halted….We could re-contact the Alderman’s Office and see if he can speed up the court date or put additional pressure on the owner. "

NPES Board Member meeting notes: "Chris feels we need to put this to rest before the owner has a better understanding of our role throughout the last 3-4 months…..I know the Alderman’s office will do anything possible to help us get that property…"

Board Member/Developer to me: "Good luck hope the city doesn't take it away. This was a sure thing"

At this point it seems that we have enough critical mass of information so that we can disseminate same to every print & electronic form of media covering Chicago news. Thus, the question now is how to identify each specific reporter & email addresses so that they can be contacted... anyone have any thoughts or solutions on this?

The best way to get a reporter's attention is to give them a bunch of evidence, and not just "this school is beating up on this neighbor," because that is vague and requires a lot of work to look into and it could end up being nothing. It's also hard for the person affected to narrow the evidence down, because they are so close to it and so emotionally invested. Turban8r needs someone not involved to help narrow down the emails and other evidence and put together a cover letter summarizing the dispute and events and attach the most compelling supporting evidence (not all, it's too much) and send it to a few outlets.

Based on the general lack of moderation by EB, I'm pretty confident they wouldn't just censor this thread without being requested to do so. Appears to be yet another instance of Goliath trying to silence David. I have to hope karma will come around on this story.

EB is concerned about privacy issues but when an immigrant was outed to all of NPES community/neighborhood that he (the only one wearing a turban in the 47th Ward) allegedly poisoned children by adding lead to a playlot, that seems defensible. The Chicago Way spreads.

Thanks @Mute. When the Alderman screams at you in court "you are not a member of the community" and the folks from NPES stand silently in his corner, there is an "otherness" to it. You are correct that that is not characteristic of the neighborhood.

The school was in North Park, on Christiana, I think, off of Foster until about 19-20 years ago when they needed more space and moved to their current facility. Like a Rogers Park Montessori, they preferred to keep the name/identity.

@Mute Yes we do live in the community. Our kids attend Coonley and now Lane too. In fact, we also own a small business ServYoSelf in the neighborhood (which the school has targeted on Yelp and Google with bad reviews).

@Mute, Lane is selective enrollment now, so any student in the city is eligible and admittance is based on grades and test scores. CPS no longer uses race as a criterion in building classes at any school (it formerly did).

Not for selective high schools. It's probably been revamped several times since you attended -- they are constantly tinkering with the system.

Coonley is the neighborhood elementary school for the south side of Montrose at that block. McPherson is the school for right across the street (OP's yogurt shop across the street from his house is in McPherson).

I agree that the comment about "community" was probably referring to the NPES community and not to the neighborhood.

Yes Coonley is different. Coonley was the only reason to go through this whole ordeal. And North Park Elementary School was well aware of our intentions but those were in direct conflict with their goals. Hence, they decided to do whatever they could and now to cover it up, they are even threatening Everyblock.

@All: I am still trying to get a response from Everyblock on why they deleted emails that are public record. It seems like EB listens to the well connected/influencers in our community as was evidenced in this thread.

It’s wonderful to read the many supportive comments made here, but it seems clear that the NPES brain trusts’ current strategy is to hunker down & hope this matter just fades away...it’s up to us to prove that strategy is a loser! Anyone up for some picketing or some other hi-visibility, legal, local action?

@Tom: Discussions have occurred with people offline who have expressed support to picket in front of the school to bring light to this. They felt that bullying, whether for sake of bullying or for financial gain/corruption should not be tolerated in our neighborhood. This was the message from the last Hate Has No Home Here rally at Waters Elementary.

@Raven: Thanks for your support. Sometimes Moby needs to be dealt with and you have to draw a line with injustice/white collar crime. Unfortunately it is quite expensive to catch Moby using the courts and that's where Moby (NPES) is better equipped.

After a meeting requested by the school with Principal Needlman and Board Member Eric Hoberman. Throughout meeting, they asked repeatedly "how can we bury the hatchet?"

Principal to me afterwards: "We reached out in an effort to resolve the litigation and develop a more cordial relationship as neighbors. Unfortunately, it seems that you do not share that desire. We did not and do not disassociate ourselves from the prior administration – to the contrary, we are proud of what they have helped North Park accomplish in educating children in Chicago for over 35 years and we look forward to continuing their legacy."